Metaplex Candy Machine Guide

A Metaplex Candy Machine is the account that sells or mints NFTs during a drop. It points at a collection and, with a Candy Guard, checks rules before a mint: start time, mint limit, SOL payment, allow list, and similar guards. The machine is not the NFT and not the collection.

How a drop uses it

The authority creates the collection, creates the Candy Machine, attaches a guard, and loads items. Buyers mint against that machine. After the drop, the machine account still holds rent until someone closes it.

Candy Machine ID

The ID is the machine account’s public key. Explorers and your deploy logs show it. If you connect the authority wallet, Close Candy Machine lists the machines that wallet can control.

Guards

Guards are the mint rules: who can mint, when, how many, and at what price. They live on a Candy Guard account linked to the machine. The create tool can set those groups after the machine exists. Closing the machine also removes the guard when that instruction is part of the close.

Closing and reclaiming SOL

Withdraw, then delete the machine and guard. Rent in those accounts returns to the signer. The SOL amount is the rent those accounts actually hold, not a fixed number. Closing is not reversible. Already minted NFTs stay in wallets.

Create Candy Machine deploys the machine from the connected wallet. Create the Core collection first if you do not have one. If you only need a collection and no drop, create a Core collection and skip the machine.